The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Pelargonium hortorum which is a zonal geranium known by the varietal name Mandarin. The new variety (Oglevee No. 88, Denholm No. 54650) was discovered in a selective breeding program by Mr. Blair L. Winner. The variety was derived from the F5 generation of a cross of Dandoratglut.times.F1 pink. This variety differs from Dandoratglut in flower color with the new variety having an intense orange color while Dandoratglut has an orange-scarlet color.
The new cultivar was discovered in April of 1983 at Denholm Seeds in Lompoc, Calif., was first asexually reproduced by cuttings by Denholm Seeds at Lompoc, Calif., and has been repeatedly asexually reproduced by cuttings at Oglevee Associates, Inc. in Connellsville, Pa. over a 36 month period. It has also been trial and field tested at Connellsville, Pa. yearly since the spring of 1984. It has been found to retain its distinctive characteristics through successive propagations.
The new cultivar, when grown in a glass greenhouse in Connellsville, Pa. using natural light, 65.degree. F. day temperature, 58.degree. F. night temperature and grown in a soilless media with constant fertilizer of 275-300 parts per million nitrogen and potassium, and 16 hours of high pressure sodium light has a response time from a rooted cutting to a flowering plant in a 10 cm pot of six weeks.